204 TREES 



always sift and let grass grow under the tree. This tree is 

 a rapid grower, perfectly hardy in most sections of the 

 country, and has no serious insect enemies. The foliage 

 turns to brownish purple and yellow in the autumn. 



The Black Ash 



F, nigra. Marsh. 



The black ash is a lover of marshes, found from New- 

 foundland to Manitoba, and from Virginia to Arkansas. 

 Its blue-black winter buds, the sombre green of its foliage, 

 and the dark hues of its bark and wood have justified the 

 popular name of this handsome, slender tree. The leaflets, 

 oval and long-pointed, are sessile on the hairy leaf stalk, 

 except the terminal one. At maturity the leaves are 

 a foot or more in length, of seven to eleven leaflets, that 

 turn brown and fall early in autumn. The keys of the 

 black ash are borne in open panicles, eight to ten inches 

 long; each has a short, flat seed, with a broad blade, 

 thin, rounded, and notched instead of pointed, at the ex- 

 tremity. 



The wood of black ash has the tough, heavy coarse- 

 grained qualities of the white ash, but differs in being very 

 durable and in being easily split into thin layers — each a 

 year's growth. The Indians taught the early settlers to 

 weave baskets out of black ash splints. These splints are 

 easily separated by bending the split wood over a block. 

 The strain breaks loose the tissue that forms the spring 

 wood, and separates the bands of tough, dense summer 

 wood into strips suitable for basket weaving. Black ash is 

 used for chair seats, barrel hoops, furniture, and cabinet- 



